November 16, 2014

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom! How'd it happen so soon?!

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom! How'd it happen so soon? We celebrated Violet's first birthday this weekend. The theme comes from the children's book "Chicka Chicka Boom Boom." There were so many fun photos, I had a hard time choosing just a few...so here's more than a few.

The boys were excited to help decorate and get ready for the party!

I had fun making this cake! The top tier was banana bread (less sugar for the babies), but no one actually ate that part. We shared it at fellowship the next day. The bottom tier was classic chocolate! I found the alphabet cookies at a grocery store and covered them with royal icing. As I worked on this cake, I had to remind myself that perfection is not the goal. I'm happy with how it turned out. It's whimsical and fun, and you can tell it's made with love by me!

When the guests arrived, the kids made birthday crowns using paper and stickers I found at the stationary market.

To get us all in the Chicka Chicka Boom Boom spirit, we read the book together. Then we went on a hunt for coconut trees, set them up and played coconut tree bowling!

Next, it was time to make our own coconut trees out of some of our favorite Chinese snacks, some leftover icing and letter cookies from IKEA.

Group photos with this many little ones are a challenge, but I think this one turned out nicely.

We didn't practice blowing out the candle, so Violet was kind of clueless. No problem. The whole family stepped up to help!

The birthday girl wasn't so into the cake since she was still enjoying her snack. But she tried her best to humor us. I'm just really excited that she kept her birthday crown on.

Finally, it was time to open presents. Once again, Violet was clueless, so brothers stepped in to help. Thanks to our awesome family for sending gifts across the ocean, and for friends here with us who came to celebrate!